The Miami Grand Prix stewards have proposed changes to the Formula 1 regulations to penalties despite clearing Kevin Magnussen from “unsportsmanlike” driving.
Magnussen was punished on three occasions during the Sprint race as he continued to leave the track and gain a lasting advantage in his battle with Lewis Hamilton.
The Dane revealed post-Sprint that he had used similar tactics to Saudi Arabia earlier in the season to enhance Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg’s scoring prospects.
Magnussen did not dispute the three 10-second time penalties, citing each one was “well deserved” and that he “started using stupid tactics, which I don’t like doing”.
His driving and those subsequent comments prompted Magnussen to be called to the stewards to determine whether he had fallen foul of unsportsmanlike conduct.
The stewards’ report later read: “The driver candidly explained that he thought that he was entitled to race with Car 44 in the manner that he did and also that he was willing to accept what he considered to be standard penalties that would have been imposed on him for any infringements that occurred while he was battling for position.”
“He was also of the view that building a gap between himself and the cars ahead was perfectly within the regulations
and it was not uncommon for a driver to seek to assist his team-mate in the course of a race by doing so.
“He did not at any point in time think that what he was doing was wrong or that it was in any way unsportsmanlike.
“He highlighted that the Stewards would typically not increase the severity of the penalties for repeat offences.”
The stewards decided that there was “no clear evidence of an intention to behave in a manner that can be said to be unsportsmanlike” and Magnussen was cleared.
However, the panel did “disagree” with the “way in which Car 20 was driven” and suggested that a rule alteration should be made to repeat offenders in a single event.
“Moving forward, the Stewards will need to consider if, in appropriate situations, especially in the case of repeat infringements, the penalties to be applied for each infringement need to be increased to discourage scenarios such as those that we found today,” it continued.
“This is something that we will raise explicitly with the FIA and the Stewarding team.”
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was unimpressed with Magnussen’s driving and stated that he should “spend a weekend at home” to “reflect on his sportsmanship”.
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